Mullah Rahman knew two things for certain.
The messengers had left Dubai a few days ago and should have returned by now. And the second layer of information contained on the flash drive, if true, was explosive. On it were the plans for a complete withdrawal of all of the border combat outposts that the Americans had built.
Operations Searing Gorge and Final Salute were the code names on the encrypted files. Rahman’s information operations technician, Hasad Mohammed, had worked the flash drive and its contents for two days when he finally announced, “In Shallah.”
As Hasad showed him the files, the more mundane sets of information included a variety of special operations policies and standard operating procedures that anyone could find on the Internet.
The gold mine had been hidden beneath a second encrypted layer of information, which at first blush appeared to be a special operations rifle range manual. However, Hasad had found maps and plans in Annex C of the Glossary.
Rahman asked himself two fundamental questions.
Are these plans accurate and why would a combatant be carrying them into battle?
He pieced together the information in the plan and matched it against the map hanging on his wall in a different home than where they had initially stopped. A few miles further east, they had moved at night and blended into an alternate command post.
The room in which Rahman stood was sparsely furnished with two chairs, a wooden table, a Dell laptop, a pewter water pitcher, and his sleeping roll on the floor next to his prayer mat. A generator hummed quietly outside, providing power to the weak lights and the computer. On the wall was a detailed map of the Northwest Frontier Province and Kunar and Nuristan Provinces of Afghanistan. His mission for the last two years had been to strike the Americans where he could, inflict maximum casualties as frequently as possible, and survive.
Now, with Habib’s team already in the Naray area of Afghanistan digging for the Thorium, he apparently had captured an intelligence trove, because he saw phase one of the American operation was for two MH-47s to raid the mountain saddle which Rahman and his team had successfully defended. The plan called for an immediate follow on operation of the 101st Airborne to withdraw from the dozens of firebases up and down the border. This tracked closely with what the cowardly army colonel had mentioned after they beat him and with what the Americans had done previously in the Korengal Valley where Rahman’s men had fought the Americans daily. After the Americans had suffered too many casualties, they had decided to abandon the post. It was that simple. So Rahman could see how his plan was working. Fight them hard. Cause casualties. Drive the wedge in the American public. And get them to leave
The documents contained detailed timelines beginning in the next 48 hours. All of this led Rahman to believe the information on the flash drive was authentic. The double encryption and the fact that the special operations soldiers were conducting a spoiling attack to allow for the withdrawal meant that they would have needed the sequential plan on hand, but secure, such as on a double encrypted flash drive.
So, Rahman looked at the computer, the flash drive still plugged into the USB port on the side, and scrolled through the images contained in a PowerPoint briefing. The first slide was phase zero, which included marshalling activities at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul. Rahman’s sentries, which included two laundry workers on the base, confirmed that a large group of helicopters had been loaded the evening of the attack, taken off, and then returned to base sometime early that morning, after the fight at what the Americans appeared to be calling Objective 1422. The height of the mountain peak was 14,022 feet, and he assumed the Americans had shortened the number for convenience. This mountain also dominated the valley where the Thorium was located, so Rahman instantly understood the connection between the mineral locations and the invasion plan. If the Americans did not control the high ground in Pakistan, the Thorium mines would be vulnerable.
The second slide included the two-helicopter raid on Objective 1422, which was then going to serve as the pivot point for withdrawal operations up and down the valley to the east. The third slide showed significant helicopter movement of U.S. troops to Bagram. The fourth slide showed the Afghan National Army and Police moving into some of the abandoned bases.
Given the name of the operation, Rahman supposed that the Americans were going to retreat all of the way back to America.
Rahman’s chest pumped up. He and his men had not only thwarted the raid and driven the Americans from the Korengal, but they also may have precipitated the full American withdrawal from Afghanistan. The new American president had agreed to a timeline and it appeared that even he was ahead of that timeline. For a long time Rahman’s main fear had been whether the Americans would put fighters on the ground in Pakistan and attack them in their sanctuary. Indeed, he knew that his monthly stipends to the Pakistan Army officers in the region had secured his relative safety from the Pakistan military.
A plan came to mind. He could reinforce his efforts at capturing the Thorium mines and focus on attacking the Americans as they departed. He would push his chips all in.
Rahman’s concentration was broken when he heard a knock on the door. “Come in,” he said, activating his screen saver.
With Habib in Naray leading the miners, Aswan, a diminutive boyish Egyptian, poked his head around the door, and said, “Mullah Rahman, one of the messengers has returned.”
“One?”
“I’m told we lost brother Kamil on the return trip.”
Instantly suspicious, Rahman said, “Bring in Mansur.”
Rahman retrieved his six-inch knife from his tactical vest that was hanging on a nail next to the map.
Aswan escorted Mansur into the dimly lit room and Rhaman’s suspicions diminished, though they did not completely evaporate.
“What happened?” Rahman asked once Mansur stood upright. His face was bloodied, his hair matted with dried blood, and his arms raked with cuts, indicating defensive wounds. He was leaning on a tree branch, which he had fashioned as a crutch.
“Karachi. The truck driver took us to a warehouse where we were beaten. I escaped. Kamil was with me, but was shot.”
“The money?” Rahman asked.
“As usual, we each carried half. Aswan has my $500,000.”
“It should be a million,” Rahman said, looking at Aswan, who extended the leather pouch full of money to his boss. Rahman snatched the purse and rifled through the stacks of bills.
“Dubai only gave us a million. They said the next million would be coming. They only had one million in cash on hand.”
Rahman prided himself in controlling his emotions, but he was about to lose his temper. He turned and paced, then stopped, staring at the map. Five hundred thousand dollars would not pay for much of his retirement, especially after he paid sufficient bills to create the illusion that he was still in command. But with the new information on the flash drive, he could get the money he sought, if not from Dubai, then elsewhere, he was certain.
“Aswan, tell the guards to bring me Kamil’s family.”
Mansur immediately spoke, his words raspy with fear.
“Mullah Rahman I speak the truth. Please do not harm them.”
“We have a deal. If the money or the messenger does not return, the family dies. It is well known. You both have been well compensated. So, your time for sacrifice has come.”
“I beg you, please. We did our best.”
Aswan disappeared and returned within minutes.
“The guards are bringing the family now.”
Rahman turned toward Mansur and said, “Lock him up and kill the family.”
“No!” Mansur screamed.
“Your family will be next if I hear another word from you, Mansur. I’m going to check out your story and then make my decision on your fate.”